Sequential ion implantation and deposition (SIID) system

ABSTRACT

A system for coating a surface of a substrate with a material includes a vacuum chamber and a vacuum pump configured to maintain a vacuum in the vacuum chamber. One or more ion source(s) are configured to implant ions of the material into the surface of a substrate disposed within the vacuum chamber to form an implanted substrate layer. The ion source(s) then deposit ions of the material onto the implanted substrate layer to form a seed layer. The ion source(s) next implant ions of the material into the seed layer to form an intermix layer and finally deposit ions of the material on the intermix layer to form the coating over the substrate.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/706,414,filed simultaneously herewith on Aug. 30, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No.6,083,567 entitled Sequential Ion Implantation and Deposition (SIID)Technique.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to surface coatings and more particularlyto an ion implantation and deposition technique for applying surfacecoatings.

BACKGROUND ART

Surface coatings are used to enhance the physical, mechanical andchemical surface properties of bulk materials, in order to reduce costs,conserve materials, and increase design flexibility. For example,optical coatings are used for lenses and mirrors and metallic coatingsfor electrical contacts. Coatings may be used to increase hardness anddecrease wear. Protective coatings are applied to increase corrosion andoxidation resistance. Optimum coatings have excellent adhesion to thesubstrate to which they are applied, a dense and pore-free structure,good uniformity, and a smooth finish.

Coating techniques may be divided into two general classes, i.e.electroplating and vacuum coating. In electroplating, copper, hard anddecorative chromium, nickel, cadmium, zinc, tin, silver, gold, or othermaterials are electro-chemically deposited onto a surface. In vacuumcoating, different film production processes, such as chemical vapordeposition or physical vapor deposition, sputter deposition, ionplating, ion beam assisted deposition, arc deposition or others are usedto create films.

The major difference between the two classes of coatings is thecomposition and/or thickness of the film and the resulting waste productproduction. Electroplating usually produces films from either singlechemical elements, such as a metal, or a metal alloy, e.g., of two ormore metals. In contrast, the majority of practical vacuum coatingapplications are directed toward creation of new surface chemicalcompounds.

The electroplating process creates a polluting waste water solutioncontaining a high proportion of the deposited material, e.g., metal.Environmental regulatory standards are very strict and removing metalsfrom the waste water is expensive, and requires multi-step processes.Water treatment greatly increases the cost of electro-deposition. Inspite of steps taken to clean the water, only approximately 50% of thetreated water is recycled in the electroplating process. The remainingwater is toxic, and is released to the environment.

Ion implantation technologies are also used in vacuum coating processes.The largest disadvantage of ion implantation for industrial applicationsis the high cost of capital equipment and the total cost to implementthe process. For example, in 1988, commercial rates for nitrogen ionimplantation surface treatments were about $650.00 per batch. A batchtypically consists of items mounted on a 250 cm² rotatable plate whichcan be completely rotated to ensure uniform implantation. Forimplantation of irregularly shaped items, where specialized jiggingand/or rotations are required, costs were higher, at least for theinitial batch. For a cost of capital equipment of $1,000,000 and usingten years of amortizing, hourly rates of $144.12, $95.00 and $73.70apply for one shift, two shifts, and three shifts, respectively.Accordingly, the cost of this type of vacuum coating can besignificantly more expensive than electroplating.

Electroplated coatings are typically used under mild conditions, such asfor decorative chrome finishes on appliances, or as corrosion resistantfinishes, for example zinc, on roofing materials. If a material facesharsh or destructive conditions, vacuum coating processes are commonlyused.

Electroplating provides strong adhesion between the deposited materialand the substrate. In vacuum coating, it is believed that an intermixlayer between the substrate and film can be used to improve adhesion.However, the majority of modern deposition techniques, such as ion beamdeposition, molecular beam epitaxy, sputtering, laser ablation, oranodic and cathodic arc plasma deposition, do not produce an intermixedlayer and are not appropriate for use when strong adhesion is necessary.

Several approaches have been proposed to simplify and reduce the cost ofimplantation processes. The proposals typically involve reduction ofcapital equipment cost. Simplified systems include plasma immersion, ionimplantation or plasma source ion implantation, producing heavy ionbeams from a solid using a metal vapor arc discharge in a pulsed mode,and metallic ion production into a PIG ion source. In the future, it maybe possible to reduce the implantation cost by increasing the size ofcertain equipment. If the cost of ion implantation can be sufficientlyreduced, it may be possible to replace electroplating with vacuumcoating in many if not all coating applications.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum coatingtechnique suitable for replacing electroplating techniques currently inuse.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a vacuumcoating technique which results in improved adhesion between the coatingand the substrate.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide anenvironmentally friendly technique for plating a substrate withelectro-conductive or non-electro-conductive materials.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide atechnique for plating a substrate with electro-conductive ornon-electro-conductive materials which eliminates or substantiallyreduces polluting by-products.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a reducedcost technique for vacuum coating a substrate using direct ionimplantation in combination with ion deposition.

Additional objects, advantages, novel features of the present inventionwill become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure,including the following detailed description, as well as by practice ofthe invention. While the invention is described below with reference toa preferred embodiment(s), it should be understood that the invention isnot limited thereto. Those of ordinary skill in the art having access tothe teachings herein will recognize additional applications,modifications, and embodiments in other fields, which are within thescope of the invention as disclosed and claimed herein and with respectto which the invention could be of significant utility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, a vacuum coating process for coating asurface of a substrate with a material includes implanting first ions ofthe coating material into the surface of the substrate to form animplanted substrate layer. Second ions of the same material are nextdeposited on the implanted substrate layer to form a seed layer. Thirdions of the same material are then implanted into the seed layer to forman intermixed layer. To form the intermixed layer, the third ions areimplanted into the seed layer and may also be implanted into at least aportion of the thickness of substrate layer in a direction perpendicularto the surface of the substrate. Finally, fourth ions of the materialare deposited on the intermixed layer to form the coating of thematerial on the substrate. The implanted and deposited ions are from asingle ion source.

Preferably the ions are implanted and deposited in a single state whichis a plasma and are formed by bombarding a cathode of the coatingmaterial in a solid state with ions of a different material in a plasmastate. According to other aspects of the invention, the substrate may beformed of electro-conductive or non-electro-conductive material and thecoating material is also a electro-conductive or non-conductivematerial. Typically, the materials will be different. For example thesubstrate may be formed of steel while the coating is chrome.

A coated substrate is also provided which includes a substrate formed ofa first material and having a surface and a thickness in a directionperpendicular to said surface. A first layer formed of first ions of asecond material implanted in the first material is disposed over thesubstrate surface and has a thickness perpendicular to the surface ofthe substrate. A second layer formed of second ions of the secondmaterial implanted into deposited third ions of the second material isdisposed over the first layer and has a thickness extendingperpendicular to the surface of the substrate. The thickness of thesecond layer is typically less than the thickness of the first layer. Athird layer formed of deposited fourth ions of the second material isformed over the second layer and has a thickness perpendicular to thesurface of the substrate, thus covering the substrate surface.

The coated substrate may also include additional layers. Preferably, afourth layer formed of the first ions and the second ions implanted inthe first material which is provided over the first layer and under thesecond layer and has a thickness extending perpendicular to the surfaceof the substrate. Additionally, a fifth layer formed of the first ions,the second ions and the third ions is provided over the fourth layer andunder the second layer and has a thickness perpendicular to the surfaceof the substrate.

In accordance with further aspects of the invention, a system isprovided for coating a surface of a substrate, e.g. a steel substrate,with a material, e.g. chrome. The system includes a vacuum chamber and avacuum pump which is configured to maintain a desired vacuum within thevacuum chamber. At least one single ion source is provided to implantfirst ions of the material into the surface of a substrate disposedwithin the vacuum chamber to form an implanted substrate layer, todeposit second ions of the material on the implanted substrate layer toform a seed layer, to implant third ions of the material into the seedlayer to form an intermix layer, and to deposit fourth ions of thematerial on the intermix layer to form a coating of the material on thesubstrate. Each single ion source is configured to implant and depositthe ions in a single state, e.g. a plasma state, the ions being producedby bombarding a single cathode of the material in a solid state withions of a different material in a plasma state. In certainimplementations, it may also be beneficial to add additional one or moreion source(s) which are solely used to either implant or deposit ionsafter the seed or intermix layer has been created by the dual modesingle ion source(s). In a still further alternative, separate ionsources are operated to respectively implant or deposit ions of the samematerial on the substrate.

In operation, a vacuum is established within the chamber and one or morevoltages, e.g. three voltages may be applied, to an ion source to formthe working gas, to form the sputter electrode and to accelerate theions. The vacuum and voltages will be set at one set of values toimplant ions of the material into the substrate. One or more or thesevalues will be changed to deposit ions of the material on the substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a substrate prior to treatment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1 substrate after aninitial implantation.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 2 substrate afterdepositing a seed layer.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 3 substrate after asecondary implantation.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 4 substrate after coatingin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary single ion source in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary dual single ion source in accordance withthe present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a substrate 100 prior to anyimplantation or deposition of ions. The substrate shown is 1045 steelbut could be formed of virtually any other material requiring a surfacecoating. For example, a different metal, a glass, a catalytic, aceramic, a polymeric, a composite, or any other electro-conductive ornon-electro-conductive material could be utilized if desired. Likewise,although the preferred embodiment will be discussed in terms of coatingthe steel substrate with chromium, other coating materials, i.e. anyelectro-conductive or non-electro-conductive materials, could be used asmay be desirable for the particular application. It will also berecognized that the invention could be easily adapted for use in themanufacture of semiconductor chips. As depicted in FIG. 1, the substrate100 has a thickness A.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the substrate 100 is treated with an initialchromium ion implantation thereby forming a layer 200 in the substrate100 having a thickness B. The implanted ions are applied in a plasmastate to the primary surface of the substrate 100 to form the layer 200.The portion of the substrate 100 which has not been penetrated by theimplanted ions is designated 100′.

FIG. 3 depicts a seed layer 300 which is formed by depositing chromiumions in a plasma form on the primary surface of the implanted layer 200.The seed layer has a thickness C which is exaggerated in FIG. 3. Thethickness C of layer 300 is preferably substantially smaller than thethickness B of the layer 200. It should be noted that layer 200 andlayer 300 are both formed by applying chromium ions in a plasma state.Hence, a single ion source can be utilized for both implantation anddeposition of the ions.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a secondary implantation of chromium ions ismade to the seed layer 300 and implanted substrate layer 200 of FIG. 3by applying energetic chromium ions in a plasma state. As depicted inFIG. 4, the implanted ions penetrate through a thickness D of thetreated substrate depicted in FIG. 3. Accordingly, the implantedchromium ions extend through the seed layer 300 and into layer 200depicted in FIG. 3, thereby actually forming three different layers,i.e., layer 200″ having a thickness H, layer 400 having a thickness Eand layer 300′ having a thickness F. It should also be noted that thethickness of layer 200′, which includes ions only from the initialimplantation of the substrate 100, reflects a reduction in the thicknessof layer 200 from a thickness B to the thickness G of layer 200′ asindicated in FIG. 4. It may be advantageous for the intermix layer to beformed by a series of depositions, each deposition being followed by animplantation.

The newly formed layer 200″ is an intermixed layer including ionsimplanted in the substrate during both the initial and secondaryimplantations. The layer 400 is also an intermixed layer formed duringthe secondary implantation of chromium ions. The layer extends into boththe implantation layer 200 and the seed layer 300 depicted in FIG. 3.This layer includes chromium ions applied during the initialimplantation, the depositing of the seed layer and the secondaryimplantation. This mixing of the chromium ions applied during thedifferent stages of the process increases the adhesion of the seed layer300 of FIG. 3 to the substrate 100.

Ion implantation before the deposition of the seed layer 300 eliminatesthe need to heat the substrate to achieve film adhesion of seed layer300 to the substrate 100 and the additional ion implantation after seedlayer 300 deposition serves to further increase the seed layer adhesionto the substrate. Residual stresses is created by ion implantation anddeposition, and a sudden transition between the two processes couldpossibly increase the internal stresses in the portion of the substrateproximate to the surface coating and in the surface coating itself. Suchresidual stresses can also cause degraded adhesion. Accordingly, ionimplantation and deposition may beneficially both be performed using oneor more single ion sources, each of which operates in the two modes,i.e., ion implantation and ion deposition, such that the transitionbetween the two modes is smooth and continuous thereby reducing anyresidual stresses which might be otherwise introduced. However, this isnot necessarily mandatory.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a final deposit of chromium ions of the samematerial as those previously implanted and deposited is applied in aplasma state over the previously treated substrate depicted in FIG. 4 toform a chromium film layer 500 covering the outer surface of thesubstrate 100. This final deposition layer 500 serves as the surfacecoating for the substrate 100. Because the final layer 500 is formed ofexactly the same material as the seed layer 300, the surface layer 500has improved adhesion to the seed layer 300 which is, in turn, stronglyadhered to the substrate 100 as a result of the multiple implantation.

As shown in FIG. 5, the resulting coated substrate includes a firstlayer 200′ of chromium ions implanted in the substrate. A second layer200″ includes first and second chromium ions of the same materialimplanted in the substrate during the two implantation stages. A thirdlayer 400 is provided which includes first, second and third ionsrespectively associated with the first and second implantation and thedeposit of the seed layer 300 all mixed with ions of the substrate 100.A fourth layer 300′ includes ions deposited to form the seed layer 300and ions implanted during the second implantation stage of theabove-described process. Finally, a surface layer 500 is also providedcomprised of ions deposited in the final stage of the process to form afifth layer.

It will be understood that the inventive sequential ion implantation anddeposition (SIID) technique described above is related to, but differentfrom, other deposition techniques such as metal plasma immersion ionimplantation and deposition (MPI) and ion beam assisted deposition(IBAD). The basis of IBAD is simultaneous implantation and depositionfrom two or more different ion sources. For example, IBAD uses primarilyargon gas to bombard a thin surface film, to produce some mixing of theatoms simultaneously deposited from a different source with thesubstrate. MPI uses successive implantation and deposition of ions ofdifferent materials respectively from different sources. In both ofthese techniques, energetic implanted ions are in a gaseous state andproduced from one solid source, and the deposited ions are in anon-gaseous state and produced from a different solid source. In thepresent technique, ions produced for implantation and deposition are inthe same state, and are produced from a single ion source. Implantingions of the same element as the deposited ions using the presenttechnique results in superior adhesion.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an exemplary ion implantation and depositiondevice 600 suitable for performing implantation and depositions inaccordance with the present invention is depicted. The device 600includes a vacuum chamber 610 and associated vacuum pumps 680 formaintaining an appropriate environment for the implantation anddeposition of chromium ions. A housing 650, which houses the depictedPenning discharge ion source, is located within the vacuum chamber.Voltage source 690 provides power to the ion source. It will berecognized that another type of ion source could, if desired, besubstituted for the Penning discharge source.

The ion source includes permanent magnets 620 and anode 630. A gas inlet660 is provided for introducing working ions in a plasma state. Asputtering chromium cathode 640 is disposed substantially centeredwithin the anode 630. A space 625 is located between the anode 630 andsputtering cathode 640 in which argon (Ar) plasma which is the preferredworking gas for the depicted exemplary ion source, is present. The argonions bombard the chromium cathode 640 and chromium ions are driven outin a plasma stream 670 and implanted or deposited on the substrate 100which is also located within the vacuum chamber 610. It should be notedthat although the device 600 described with reference to FIG. 6 utilizesa chromium cathode 640 and argon plasma, other materials could beutilized as may be desirable for the particular implementation of theinvention.

It will be recognized that the use of the above-described inventionfacilitates reduction or elimination of environmentally harmful aspectsof conventional surface coating techniques such as electroplating. Thepresent invention has potential applications in the production ofvirtually any single element or multi-element composite film created ona substrate. For example, the present invention may have applications insuch diverse fields as toolmaking, the manufacture of semiconductorchips and biotechnology. The technique could be applied in creating morewear resistant alloys for use as bearing biomaterials and for creatingsuperior catalytic electrodes for use in dialysis.

Several parameters can be controlled during the implantation anddeposition stages of the technique described above. For example, thetime period during which ions are implanted or deposited willnecessarily need to be optimized for the particular implementation ofthe invention. The ion beam voltage, vacuum and current density alongwith the purity of the sputtering cathode (690) and working gas, willtypically also affect the quality of the resulting film.

The depicted ion source operates in two modes, i.e. ion implantation andion deposition. Transfer from one mode to another occurs by changing thevacuum in the chamber 610 and the electrical voltages from voltagesource 690 which are used for forming argon plasma, for sputtering thechromium cathode, and for accelerating the ions as illustrated in Table1 below. The specific values of the parameters will of course depend onthe implanted/deposited material. The required thickness of the film canbe controlled by increasing the ion deposition time.

TABLE 1 Examples of Parameters for ion implantation and ion depositionImplantation Deposition Work Vacuum X10⁻⁴ Torr ≈2 ≈3 Forming Ar Voltage(V) 400-500 300-450 Plasma Current (A) 0.5-1.2 0.7-1.5 Sputtering CrVoltage (V) 1000-1500  500-13000 Cathode Current (A)  0.2-0.25 0.25-0.4 Acceleration Voltage (kV) 30-45 0.15-1.0  Current (mA) 25-35 40-50

Traditional ion beam implantation equipment, for example that which isutilized conventionally in semiconductor applications, is very expensivebecause ion accelerators and mass separators are used to focus and scana narrow ion beam over the substrate. Accelerators and mass separatorsare not required in device 600 to implement the above describedtechnique. The device 600 is thus simplified and has improvedreliability as compared to major currently used ion implantationequipment.

The Penning discharge ion source was developed over 50 years ago, butits applications depend on the specific design parameters. For example,“Aisenberg” ion sources are conventionally used only for ion beamdeposition, while “Vesnovsky-Brukhov” ion sources are conventionallyused only for ion implantation. The ion source in accordance with thepresent invention, as illustrated in FIG. 6, is an improvement over the“Vesnovsky-Brukhov” ion source, and can be used for both ionimplantation and ion deposition.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary ion implantation and deposition device 700which incorporates multiple single ion sources for implanting anddepositing ions in accordance with the present invention. Device 700includes a vacuum chamber 710 and associated pump 780 for maintaining anappropriate environment for the implantation and deposition of chromiumions. Housings 750 and 751 are disposed within the vacuum chamber andrespectively house a Penning discharge type single ion source. Voltagesource 790 provides power to the respective ion sources. As discussedabove, although Penning discharge type ion sources are depicted, anothertype of single ion source could be utilized, if desired. Additionally,one of the sources could, if desired, be an ion source configured tooperate in a single mode, i.e., either to implant or deposit ions on theseed or intermix layer created with the dual mode single ion source.Alternatively, the two sources depicted could each operate in a singlemode. That is, one ion source could be operable to implant chromium ionsand the other ion source could be operable to deposit chromium ions. Theion sources would be operated sequentially to form the layers asdetailed above.

Hence, the two ion sources may be substantially identical, or one sourcemay be operable in a dual mode and the other only a single mode. In anyevent, each includes permanent magnets 720 or 721 and anodes 730 or 731.One of the single ion sources includes a sputtering chromium cathode 740while the other includes sputtering chromium cathode 741. As discussedin the FIG. 6 embodiment, the sputtering cathodes 740 and 741 aredisposed substantially centered within its corresponding anode 730 or731. A space 725 or 726 is provided between the anode 730 and cathode740 and the anode 731 and cathode 741 for operating on the working gas,in this case argon (Ar), to form the argon plasma. As has been discussedpreviously, the argon ions bombard the chromium cathodes 740, 741 todislodge and energize the chromium ions thereby forming plasma streams770 and 771 to implant or deposit chromium ions on the substrate 100,which is also located in the vacuum chamber 710.

The dual ion source(s) shown in FIG. 7, if operable in a dual mode,operate in substantially the same manner as described above withreference to the FIG. 6 configuration. However, because dual single ionsources are utilized, implantation and deposition can be performedsubstantially faster. For example, the time period during which ions areimplanted or deposited can be reduced in half using the dual single ionsource configuration depicted in FIG. 7 as compared to the single ionsource configuration depicted in FIG. 6. Of course, even a greaternumber of single ion sources could be utilized if desired, therebyfurther reducing the required time for each sequential implantation anddeposition of ions. If one or both of the sources operate in a singlemode, each would be operated as previously described only during eitherthe implantation or deposition of ions, as applicable.

In a typical application, the substrate 100 may be rotated on asupporting platform while being exposed to sequentially implanted anddeposited ions from the single ion source of FIG. 6 or each of thesingle ion sources of FIG. 7. It will be understood by those skilled inthe art that, rather than rotating the substrate 100 during implantationand deposition of ions, the substrate could be moved linearly, by forexample a conveyor, with the plasma stream or streams being arranged toprovide the required coverage over the substrate 100 surface as it isconveyed beneath the single or multiple single ion sources.

Further still, if desired, the ion source or sources could be moved overthe stationary substrate or both the single ion source(s) and substratecould be moved in a synchronized fashion to provide the desired coverageof the substrate surface during sequential implantations anddepositions. It will also be recognized that the specimen is preferablyintroduced into and out of the chamber 710 via an “air lock” (not shown)so that the entire chamber 710 need not be re-evacuated each time asubstrate is introduced or removed from the chamber This will reduce thepower use of the vacuum pump 780, as well as the time required for thesubstrate 100 to remain in the vacuum chamber in order to perform therequired operations.

As described above, the present invention provides a vacuum coatingtechnique suitable for replacing electroplating techniques now in use.The invention provides improved adhesion qualities between a coating andsubstrate. The invention also provides a coating process whichvirtually, if not totally, eliminates non-recyclable waste water and hasa reduced detrimental impact on the environment. The described inventionalso reduces the cost of coating a substrate using ion implantation.

It will also be recognized by those skilled in the art that, while theinvention has been described above in terms of a preferred embodiment(s)it is not limited thereto. Various features and aspects of the abovedescribed invention may be used individually or jointly. Further,although the invention has been described in the context of one or moreparticular implementations, those skilled in the art will recognize thatits usefulness is not limited thereto and that the present invention canbe beneficially utilized in any number of implementations andapplications. Accordingly, the claims set forth below should beconstrued in view of the full breath and spirit of the invention asdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for coating a surface of anelectro-conductive or non-electro-conductive substrate with anelectro-conductive or non-electro-conductive material, comprising: avacuum chamber; a vacuum pump configured to maintain a vacuum in thevacuum chamber; and a single ion source configured to sequentiallyimplant and deposit ions with a smooth and continuous transitiontherebetween which implants first ions of the material into the surfaceof a substrate disposed within said vacuum chamber to form an implantedsubstrate layer, to deposit second ions of the material on the implantedsubstrate layer to form a seed layer, to implant third ions of thematerial into the seed layer to form an intermix layer, and to depositfourth ions of the material on the intermix layer to form the coating onthe substrate, wherein the single ion source includes a single cathodeformed of the material in a solid state and is configured to implant anddeposit the ions by bombarding the single cathode with ions of adifferent material in a gaseous state to thereby dislodge particles ofthe material from the cathode and selectively energize the dislodgedparticles for implantation or deposition.
 2. A system according to claim1, wherein the single ion source is configured to implant and depositthe ions in a single state.
 3. A system according to claim 1, whereinthe single ion source is configured to implant and deposit the ions in aplasma state.
 4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the single ionsource is configured such that the third ions are implanted into atleast a portion of the thickness of the implanted substrate layer.
 5. Asystem according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is formed of a firstmetal and the material is a second metal which is different from thefirst metal.
 6. A system according to claim 1, wherein the substrate isformed of steel and the material is chromium.
 7. A system according toclaim 1, wherein the single ion source is operable such that a thicknessof the implanted substrate layer is greater than a thickness of the seedlayer.
 8. A system according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum pump isconfigured to maintain a first vacuum within the chamber during ionimplantation and to maintain a second vacuum, different from the firstvacuum, within the chamber for ion deposition.
 9. A system according toclaim 1, further comprising a voltage source configured to apply atleast one voltage to the ion source during ion implantation and to applyat least one different voltage to the ion source during ion deposition.10. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a voltage sourceconfigured to apply a first voltage to the ion source during ionimplantation and to apply a second voltage, different from said firstvoltage, to the ion source during ion deposition, and wherein the vacuumpump is configured to maintain a first vacuum within the chamber duringion implantation and to maintain a second vacuum, different from thefirst vacuum, within the chamber during ion deposition.
 11. A system forcoating a surface of a substrate, comprising: a vacuum chamber; and atleast one ion source configured to sequentially implant and deposit ionswith a smooth and continuous transition therebetween which implantsfirst ions of a material into a substrate disposed within said vacuumchamber, and to deposit second ions of the material onto the substrate,wherein said at least one ion source includes a cathode formed of thematerial in a solid state and is configured to implant and deposit theions by bombarding the cathode with ions of a different material in agaseous state to thereby dislodge particles of the material from thecathode and selectively energize the dislodged particles forimplantation or deposition.
 12. A system according to claim 11, whereinsaid at least one ion source is configured to implant and deposit theions in a plasma state.
 13. A system according to claim 11, furthercomprising at least one additional ion source configured to eitherimplant ions into or deposit ions onto the substrate after thesequential implantation of said first ions of the material anddeposition of said second ions of the material.
 14. A system accordingto claim 11, further comprising a vacuum pump configured to maintain afirst vacuum within the chamber during ion implantation and to maintaina second vacuum, different than the first vacuum, within the chamberduring ion deposition.
 15. A system according to claim 11, furthercomprising a voltage source configured to apply at least one voltage tosaid at least one ion source during ion implantation and to apply atleast one different voltage to said at least one ion source during iondeposition.
 16. A system according to claim 11, further comprising avoltage source configured to apply at least one voltage to said at leastone ion source to implant ions of the material and to apply at least onedifferent voltage to said at least one ion source to deposit ions of thematerial, and a vacuum pump configured to maintain a vacuum within thechamber during ion implantation and to maintain a different vacuumwithin the chamber during ion deposition.